50 Ways to Say 'I Love You'
by ModFanFiction
Summary: A collection of one-shots based off of the "100 Ways to Say 'I Love You'" Tumblr challenge. Collection will not be in order of the challenge, will not have a set update schedule, and will only contain 50 of the prompts. Relationships will almost entirely revolve around the Honorary Titans. Current chapter: Prompt 17, Herald/Raven.
1. HeraldHot Spot

Hot Spot was supposed to be the one out on the patrol shift that night, but the weather had different plans. Outside was murky with sheets of rain pouring down, which rendered his powers useless for the time being. So he was stuck inside on the couch, half-heartedly flipping through the television channels to see if one had miraculously become available despite the rain.

Hot Spot felt almost obligated to stay up; Herald had graciously offered to cover his shift for him, which combined with the evening patrol they were already on meant that they were going to be staying in the downpour until the wee hours of the morning. Someone should be awake to greet them when they got back. Or, at least someone should be awake long enough to hear them inevitably complain about the temperature outside.

It was nearly two in the morning when Herald finally arrived back. Soaked to the bone, Herald peeled their cape off their body and began to ring it out, stating exactly what was predicted of them. "Can you believe how _cold_ it is outside? I'm absolutely freezing!"

Hot Spot sat up from 'resting his eyes'. "Could you not find a drier spot to watch from?"

"Wasn't allowed to." Herald now moved on to shaking out their tunic, and in a mocking voice clarified that, "Villains don't care about being dry when they commit crimes". A scoff returned them to their normal tone. "If they were smart they would. Who wants to be out in this kind of chill anyway?"

Hot Spot wasn't sure who was supposed to be mimicked there, but decided to skip over asking. Instead, he slid off the couch to help his partner clean up the rainwater that was puddling on the floor.

Herald's cape and boots had been discarded into a pile, and their socks were soon to join. They were still mumbling to themselves about "working in these freezing conditions" when Hot Spot came over with a couple of rolls of paper towels.

He did not get to use them right away, however. Herald, due to a mixture of fatigue and the slippery floor, nearly tumbled backwards and needed Hot Spot to steady them back. Hot Spot had grabbed one of their hands and balanced it on his shoulder until they were back on their feet.

The wet gauntlet dampened his shirt, and though Hot Spot was unable to feel its coldness - having a permanent fever does that to a person - he now understood wanting to take off the wet clothing. He chuckled to himself and was about to joke about it when he noticed that Herald's expression had changed.

Herald's need to bemoan their chills seemed to be cured. In fact, just the small touch from their partner sent a heat wave through their body, a sensation they wanted to create again.

Abandoning their current plan, Herald spun a 180 and pulled Hot Spot into a close hug. They made sure to keep a grasp on his hands and press their face next to his, nuzzling it slightly to try and spread the heat. Soon they had moved down their partner's neck, leaving a few habitual kisses, finally ending on one of his shoulders and giving an explanation for the sudden burst of physical affection.

"You're warm."

Hot Spot wanted to say something to indicate his approval of this spontaneous event. Instead he said the first thing that came to mind.

"A consistent 38 degrees."

"Warm me up," Herald requested, again moving to nuzzle Hot Spot's face. The exposed skin was much warmer than the now-wet clothing after all. Before they could get very far, though, Hot Spot regained control of his words and gently pushed them away.

"You need to change out of those soaked clothes first. Getting me wet won't help any."

Herald was already missing the warmth their partner provided, but still gave a tired smile and an agreement. They started to take their socks off again, but remembered that the reason Hot Spot came over in the first place was to clean up the mess they had already made. Not wanting to create more work for their partner, they decided to finish de-dressing in the bathroom, taking the already discarded clothing with them as they trudged away.

Hot Spot did appreciate the thoughtful act, and luckily for him it only took a single roll of paper towels to mop up the rainwater puddle. Doing so did get his shirt more wet, though, especially his sleeves. He was planning on switching clothes anyway, as he was still in his uniform from when he was supposed to be on night watch, so the damp shirt just gave him an excuse to change faster.

Herald had already finished changing by the time Hot Spot reached the bathroom. The mask was the only part of their uniform they still wore, with the shirt and boxers being from Hot Spot's dresser. They held up a shirt they randomly pulled out. "You want this one?"

Hot Spot shrugged and took it from them to go change.

Herald began to pace around to stop themselves from falling asleep waiting. Hot Spot was correct with his implication that changing clothes would help, as now they were feeling much more exhausted from the long hours patrolling than exasperated at the cold weather. But they didn't want to fall asleep leaning against a wall. Instead, they wanted to curl up next to their partner and let his natural warmth lull them to sleep. _That_ would be a wonderful way to end the night.

So when Hot Spot was done changing, Herald latched themself on him. It gave them the instant heat they were longing for. "Now you can warm me up."

"Not right here," Hot Spot disagreed, "I don't want to fall asleep against a wall."

Herald gave a small nod, realizing that Hot Spot would also be tired after staying up this late. If they had the energy, they would have swept their partner off his feet and romantically carried him off to bed. But they didn't have the energy, and instead just whined about having another pause away from the warmth.

Hot Spot, also not wanting to break away from the embrace, decided to go to the much-closer couch to crash for the night instead of having to half-drag Herald all the way to the bedroom. He flopped onto the couch, letting Herald sleep on top of him instead of the usual vice versa.

Herald, being taller than Hot Spot, had to wrap their legs around their partner so they wouldn't dangle off the couch. They didn't mind, though; they wanted to have as much of their body covered in warmth as possible anyway.

Hot Spot shuffled slightly so he could still have his arms wrapped his partner and his head on the arm of the couch, hopefully avoiding waking up with a crick in his neck in the morning. "Thanks for covering my patrol for me."

"No problem," Herald managed to mumble out before drifting to sleep for the night.

Herald was always a fast sleeper, so Hot Spot was not surprised that there was little conversation before they were out like a light. Still, he whispered a small "good night" before trying to get some sleep himself.


	2. HeraldRaven

Raven felt like she was empty, and the only explanation she could come up with for why was boredom. Spending hours staring at the ceiling was not an engaging activity, and she needed something to keep her mind occupied. But she did not have the energy to actually _do_ anything, so she knew that asking one of her teammates for suggestions was out of the question.

So instead she opted to try and visit someplace new, or at least relatively unfamiliar. Somewhere that was visually stimulating, yet somewhere close enough that she could visit without using her physically overwhelming soul-self.

She closed her eyes and considered where to go. As Raven mentally flipped through the places she had been before, one location kept returning to her mind. She couldn't remember it's name, but she recalled that it seemed peaceful from the short time she was there; it had a painted sky and a quiet, light atmosphere, both figuratively and literally. She even had memories of meeting-

Raven jolted upwards, now invigorated by those memories. They convinced her that visiting that particular dimension was what she needed, though she couldn't name exactly why. She did know how she could get there, however.

A bit of hesitation ran through her as she picked up the communicator off her nightstand. After all, just because Jump City had been relatively free of villains recently did not mean wherever Herald spent most of their time was. But, Raven felt the need to risk the possibility.

When Raven actually made the call, the hesitation did not disappear, but merely evolved into nervousness. She pulled her hood on out of habit when she saw the signal being received.

"What's the situation Raven?" Herald answered immediately.

"There is no situation," Raven corrected just as swiftly, "This is a friendly call." She noted that the small bit of scenery she could see behind Herald contained the streaked skyline she remembered.

"Oh, cool." Their tone and stance eased significantly. "What's up then?"

"I was wondering if you would be able to take me to your ... home dimension?"

Herald frowned. "I can't, my home dimension is pretty secluded." They then gave an eager smile and ushered behind themself. "But I could show you around here if you'd like."

"That's what I meant." Raven suddenly found her face heating up with embarrassment. She wasn't sure where these conflicting emotions were coming from, but was glad that Herald didn't seem to notice her reaction.

"Great! I love having company. Should I pick you up at the usual spot?"

"No!" Raven's response was harsher than she intended, and she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, if you go to the usual location, some of the other Titans might notice and try to come along. I don't want to inconvenience you by making you tour an entire group around." She hoped that explanation sounded less selfish than her first answer, anyway.

Herald didn't seem to mind either way. "I'll just come to your exact location then." And with that they abruptly hung up.

Raven took the few moments she still had alone to collect herself. She wanted those feelings of anxiety and embarrassment to go away before Herald arrived.

She reasoned that finding a way to get to the dimension was the hardest part of this situation - and she had already done that - so all that was left was going there and letting its unfamiliar yet peaceful atmosphere rejuvenate her. She was going to relax, and there was no need for strong emotional reactions for that to happen.

A trumpet literally announcing Herald's presence rang throughout her room, opening up a portal. Herald stepped through and offered their hand to her. "You ready?"

Raven nodded and stood up. She took a few steps towards the portal, but then paused when she noticed that Herald still had their hand stuck out towards her. Before she could ask about it, Herald noticed her confusion and pulled their hand back.

"Looks like I'm still in patrol mode, sorry about that." They gave a sheepish laugh. "You probably don't need my help entering portals, do you?"

"Probably not," Raven agreed, and took that statement as permission to enter the portal.

The dimension on the other side was exactly what Raven remembered it being. By all accounts it should have been a distressing dimension - it was vast and silent, with an empty skyline aside from splotches of red and black. But she found it breathtaking, and merely viewing it made her mood skyrocket.

Raven put down her hood, let her body relax, and floated upward to get better visibility. As Raven continued gazing at her surroundings, she tried to pinpoint exactly what about being in this dimension reenergized her so effectively. Was it something psychological, how the lighter gravity and seemingly infinite space made her feel free of constrictions? The way the blend of audible stillness but visual movement seemed to spark the right amount of simulation for her? Or was it something else?

"You need help getting down?" Herald called up to her, again offering out a hand.

She floated back down with ease. "No, I think I've gotten an understanding of this dimension's gravity."

Herald again pulled away their hand and laughed, trying to defuse the awkward situation they felt that they had created. "That's good. I guess my training just makes me wary of bodies floating around in this dimension."

Raven, perhaps because of her newly elevated mood, chose not to ask for an explanation for that statement. She instead focused on the reason she came here in the first place. "I see why you spend so much time here, Herald. This place is ... magnificent."

"Yeah, I got lucky with my patrolling placement." Herald rapidly returned to a jovial mood. "I can show you more of it, if you'd like. We might be able to see some of the rocks in their orbit."

Raven accepted their offer and let them lead her away from the skyline. She had truthfully forgotten about the floating rocks, and they weren't appealing enough on their own to make her stay. She just couldn't convince herself to ask Herald to take her back home yet, however.

The two of them walked along, with Herald pointing out different aspects of the surroundings as they went. Raven didn't give their bits of trivia her full attention until they came across something she was already familiar with.

"I bet you remember those creatures." Herald told her, ushering towards a hunk of rock across from them. Nestled within its craters were the electric tentacle creatures that had attacked Raven when she first visited the dimension. "If it makes you feel better, they wouldn't have eaten you."

Raven gave a good-natured snort. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, yeah." Herald grinned sheepishly. "It made me feel better about staying around when I learned that."

The conversation then promptly ended, like the rest of the small talk the two of them had made. But as the silence returned, Raven found that it no longer had a refreshing effect on her. She glanced around and noted that the streaks painting the sky no longer mesmerized her, either.

Yet Raven still couldn't convince herself to ask to leave. Something lingered in her mind, telling her that this dimension still had something to offer her. But what?

An idea flashed through Raven's mind; the logic-driven part of her wanted to ignore it, but the emotion-driven part wanted to act upon it. She made a split-second decision to listen to the emotional part.

"Are those creatures native to this dimension, Herald?" Raven suddenly asked them, catching them off-guard. "I'd never heard of them before coming here." Raven honestly did not care about the answer, she just wanted to test something.

"Ah, no, they're not native." Herald replied. "This dimension, like other similar dimensions, was devoid of life when first discovered, so it was turned into a conservation area-"

They were rambling now, and for once Raven was glad her simple question was given such a lengthy response, as it made her remember that the dimension itself was not the only thing that held her attention when she first visited. She closed her eyes and let the emotional realization sink in.

She liked listening to Herald talk, the way their deep voice soothed her as it drifted through her ears. She liked how Herald seemed to perfectly walk the line between approachability and professionalism with their interactions. She liked _Herald_.

Raven wasn't sure what to make of these newly-understood affections. Prior to meeting Herald she had developed only a handful of crushes, so it was still a relatively new experience for her. It certainly explained her more unusual actions, like the spurts of embarrassment she felt around them, but other than that...? There weren't any butterflies in her stomach and she didn't feel the desire to profess her love to them; all this crush seem to do to her was make Raven feel nice and warm and just plain _good_ while around Herald.

The crush soon proved to have another impact on Raven, however, as it occupied her mind to a point where she became completely oblivious to her surroundings. She had to be called back into reality with a panicked-

"Watch your step!"

Raven shot her eyes open in time to feel her feet slipping off the rock's edge and her body lurching towards the blank space below it. Before she could catch herself, Herald grabbed her hands and pulled her back up, leaning her against their body for support.

"Are you all right?" They tried to steady their voice, but it still dripped with panic. "Are you feeling woozy? Are you able to stand on your own?"

"Mm," was Raven's only response. She pulled one hand out of Herald's hold and tugged her hood up to regain her senses.

Physically she was fine - it was the shock that was getting to her. She closed her eyes and took a sharp breath in. As she exhaled, she steadied herself back into reality, standing up straight and slowly letting go of Herald's other hand. She was going to have to put understanding this new emotional information on hold until she returned back to her room.

"I'm fine," Raven finally clarified. "Just a little shaken, that's all."

"That's good." Herald was visibly relieved and gave a reassuring smile. "Sorry about that, too. I should have been paying attention to the fact that the path was ending, I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

The mixture of their words and their warm expression made Raven realize that 'postponing feelings' was a lot easier to think than to implement, so she decided that _now_ was the proper time to go. She just wanted to word her request to leave in a way that would avoid potentially insulting Herald.

"I suppose this marks the literal end of the tour then."

"I'm afraid so. I'd offer to take you to a similar dimension, but it's probably better to drop you back home, make sure there's no residual effects of you staying here. Everyone reacts differently to varying dimensional frequencies and all that."

Raven did not think that was going to be an issue, but appreciated Herald's concern for her. Her lips curled into a very small smile. "Hopefully that offer will be available in the future, because if the other dimensions are this gorgeous, I'd like to visit them too." She wouldn't mind more guided tours, either.

Herald's face lit up. "The offer is available whenever you have the time, I tend not to be super busy. Just call me and let me know when." They then decided that that was a good end to the conversation, and readied their horn to open a portal to send Raven back home.

Raven watched the portal open, part of her still disappointed that she was leaving so soon. But the rest of her knew that she had to fully understand how this crush was going to impact her interactions with Herald before continuing them in any deep manner.

So she stepped through, only pausing briefly to wave goodbye. She purposefully turned back around to avoid seeing if Herald waved back, though she hoped they did.

Once Raven was fully back in her room, the portal closed behind her and she was left alone. She took her hood down and laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was back where she started. But, instead of feeling aimless, she now had a mission: to parse through how this crush was going to impact her.


End file.
